Stuff I know too much about
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two not watch any television at all. I kinda missed the mark on that one - by about two years.
You see, I grew up in a home where the first person who woke up in the morning turned the TV on. The last person who went to bed was the one to turn it off. As a matter of fact, my parents still have the same TV that they had when I was growing up. As electronic appliances are wont to do, the TV has picked up a few quirky behaviors over time. Now it demands to be left on full time or you are subjected to a 20 minute warm-up period during which the TV passes through three extended periods of snow.
I should add that we are not stupid people. My parents produced three offspring who all have college degrees. What can I say? We just like television.
So, I wasn't afraid to let my kid watch television. We bought her some Baby Einstein DVDs when she was four months old and propped her up in her Exersaucer to watch them. I mean, we had to get ready for work and something had to give. At two, she continues to watch some of these DVDs and has added a few more, like Elmo's Potty Time. We also let her watch Noggin and the Disney Channel. Of course, she is also spending lots of time outside and doing other toddleresque things.
But, a funny thing happened on the way to the playground. My kid learned all kinds of stuff from watching her DVDs. At 14 months she could say "Night-night, see you tomorrow." She was speaking in complete sentences before she was two. She knows colors, shapes, numbers, and the alphabet. You can draw any random letter on her Doodle Pro and she can tell you what it is (unless it's U or V - she gets those mixed up). Of course, we work with her a lot but I have to share the credit with the DVDs, man.
Some of the shows on Noggin and Disney do drive me around the bend, though. My other half swears that there are only three episodes of the Backyardigans.
Random thoughts about her favorite shows:
You see, I grew up in a home where the first person who woke up in the morning turned the TV on. The last person who went to bed was the one to turn it off. As a matter of fact, my parents still have the same TV that they had when I was growing up. As electronic appliances are wont to do, the TV has picked up a few quirky behaviors over time. Now it demands to be left on full time or you are subjected to a 20 minute warm-up period during which the TV passes through three extended periods of snow.
I should add that we are not stupid people. My parents produced three offspring who all have college degrees. What can I say? We just like television.
So, I wasn't afraid to let my kid watch television. We bought her some Baby Einstein DVDs when she was four months old and propped her up in her Exersaucer to watch them. I mean, we had to get ready for work and something had to give. At two, she continues to watch some of these DVDs and has added a few more, like Elmo's Potty Time. We also let her watch Noggin and the Disney Channel. Of course, she is also spending lots of time outside and doing other toddleresque things.
But, a funny thing happened on the way to the playground. My kid learned all kinds of stuff from watching her DVDs. At 14 months she could say "Night-night, see you tomorrow." She was speaking in complete sentences before she was two. She knows colors, shapes, numbers, and the alphabet. You can draw any random letter on her Doodle Pro and she can tell you what it is (unless it's U or V - she gets those mixed up). Of course, we work with her a lot but I have to share the credit with the DVDs, man.
Some of the shows on Noggin and Disney do drive me around the bend, though. My other half swears that there are only three episodes of the Backyardigans.
Random thoughts about her favorite shows:
- How come today's shows require so much interaction from the wee ones? Bugs Bunny never asked me for help with anything. Dora is constantly asking for my help with finding stuff. She'll ask her question ("Do you know how to get to Penguin Island?") and then she'll just stand there until I tell her that indeed, I do know.
- Oobi is just plain creepy. Like Elmo, Oobi speaks in the third person. Claudia hate Oobi.
- I'm puzzled by Go, Diego, Go. How old is this kid and how is it that he runs a wildlife park all on his own? My friend Brenda wants to know why Diego's sister, Alicia, has no accent.
- Don't even get me started on the Wonder Pets!
- I worry about what the creators of LazyTown are going to do when Stephanie sprouts a bosom.
- Higglytown Heroes is another weird show. The characters are all hollow and have the ability to split in half - like Russian nesting dolls. If you watch the credits on this show, there are a lot of famous people on there! There was one episode where the kids were trying to get an expectant mom to the hospital but there was too much traffic. I couldn't figure out why she couldn't just pop open her mid-section and pull the baby out. Also, I'm not convinced that Pizza Guy is not a pedophile.
- And finally, how come Dora requires no parental supervision whatsoever?
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